Heat mat question...

[cactusjake]

Hey all,

I've got a a terrarium that's 36"x18"x18"...now my heat mat is 18"Lx8"W...it takes up exactly half of the enclosure. is that too much? I've also got a smaller 10"x11" heat mat i could use but would that be big enough to heat the enclosure?

i should add that the enclosure is an exo-terra glass terrarium...will i NEED the bigger one to heat it? i've read that glass aquariums are hard to keep heated properly. i also have a rheostat.

UPDATE-- i went with the smaller heat pad and it maxes out at about 88.7 F in the hot spot....cool end is 69 F. Should i add a lamp fixture with a heat emitter?

i know these temps won't due for a ball python...good thing i tried to get the temps right before i got the snake! should i just tear off the smaller heat pad and replace it with my lager one? i know that will probably destroy the small one but at this point i don't care. any suggestions??

thanks!!

[Emilio]

Your gonna need the heat emitter your ambient temps would be dangerously low without it. Are you getting a hatchling Bp? If so that size of terranium is to big a 10 gallon would be much better.


Here's a caresheet http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...s%29-Caresheet

[Crazy4Herps]

Either mat could potentially work with a r'stat. 88* is fine for basking, though you should try to get cool end / ambient temps up to 75* at very least. You could try sticking the larger heat mat on the other side of the cage, unhook the r'stat (if you say it's maxed out, it won't really matter), and use the larger heat mat on very low (with the r'stat) to heat the cool side, which will also end up raising the ambient temps. Then in the summer you could unplug the large heat mat and connect the r'stat to the smaller heat mat to cool things off.

Or you could buy a low wattage halogen bulb to have on during the day (your current temps are fine for nighttime), or a CHE to keep on 24/7. I have never had luck with bulbs in glass cages, especially CHE's (humidity drops to 10% and stays there), but feel free to experiment. Keep trying things; eventually you'll find something that works for you.

[ballpythonluvr]

I would go with the advice that Emilio has given you. The caresheet is a great source of information also.